28

Oct

2013

“Innsmouth by Moonlight”: Deep One sculpture WIP

​Crossing the deserted beach under the moonlit sky of Innsmouth, Massachusetts moves a sea creature known a a Deep One; a member of an aquatic race of humanoid beings older than mankind and more sinister than one’s nightmares may imagine. It and it’s kind have been interacting with the inhabitants of this secluded fishing village for more than a century and have altered the town and it’s people to a hideous level of deformed decay spoken about only in shuttered whispers by the neighboring residents of Newburyport, Ipswich and Arkham. What the ultimate fate awaiting mankind at the hands of the Deep Ones cannot be fully envisioned but its certain that it won’t be a pleasant outcome. We can only hope to completely overcome their threat when the time comes for final confrontation of the species.

The story of these creatures was brought to light in the weird fiction of author Howard Phillips Lovecraft under the title of “The Shadow over Innsmouth”. Written in 1931 and finally published in 1936, the tale continues the theme from his other tales of deeply unnerving revelations that the world is populated with darkly menacing beings that threaten all animal and plant life here and that may one day not only take over the earth but carry it off to some unfathomable place in the universe or some other time for unimaginable purposes.

Very strange stuff indeed! H.P.Lovecraft’s imaginative fiction has grown in popularity due to his ability to create cosmic horrors unlike any author before him. These terrible tales have entertained countless readers in the last eighty years and have also inspired other writers to add to his dark mythology by creating new stories populated with the characters he created so memorably in his original works. Collectively Lovecraft’s creations are now grouped under the banner of the “Cthulhu Mythos”, being that so many of his stories concern recurring elements leading to the threat of an apocalyptic end to Earth by, among other horrors, the monstrous deity called Cthulhu.

Back in 1982 I was employed by Grenadier Models who had acquired the license to create miniature figures for the new RPG (roll playing game) “The Call Of Cthulhu” produced by Chaosium Inc. My job was to create in miniature form all the monsters used in the game that were based on descriptions from H.P.Lovecraft’s stories and from them I designed and sculpted some of the most popular of his creatures. Among the hoard were: the Old Ones, the Great Race of Yith, a Shoggoth, Dark Young of Shub-Niggurah, Dimensional Shambler, Ghoul, Byakhee, Night Gaunt, Chthonians, MiGo, Hunting Horror, Nyarlathotep, Hound of Tindalos, Deep Ones, Tsathoggua, Sand People, Serpent people and a Spawn of Cthulhu. They were quite popular among the gamers so much so that our entire line won the H.G.Wells award for Best Miniatures in the Horror/Fantasy category that year.

Years after leaving Grenadier I continued to design new renditions of the Mythos Monsters and sculpted a large figure of Great Cthulhu that was produced as a vinyl model kit by Inteleg International in 1994. I personally produced a resin version of this in a very limited quantity for those modelers not content with the vinyl version and was at the time planning an all new line of sculptures based on at least a dozen other monsters directed at the larger scaled Garage Kit marketplace.

Beginning in 2014 the new Mythos series will begin. Many creatures are planned for the line with the in-progress photo of the Deep One shown above being only a glimpse of whats to come. Please check back as the new year progresses for updates, images and release dates.

24

Sep

2013

​In the dream worlds of fantasy there are wonders unlike any existing in the real world. Beautiful landscapes bursting with color and texture beckon us on with the promise of fantastic and exciting adventures. Here are new horizons littered with forests, mountains, valleys, fields, glimmering lakes and seas. There are fabulous castles, humble villages and enticing harbor towns populated by unusual races of people and animals large and small and even more extraordinary. An idyllic dream come true.

But all is not as it seems…for there is a darker realm existing here. One pulsing with hidden dangers and rampant savagery. Evil, pure and unbridled dwells here also. Perhaps not immediately apparent but be warned…the danger is real and Monsters are everywhere!

Coming in 2014, the monsters will arrive at Moondevil Studio. There will be Dragons of every shape and size, inhabiting the land, the water and the skies. The Demons will burst forth from the darkened bowels of the earth and beyond. And the untamed Beasts of nightmares will reveal themselves, dashing away any sense of safety one might cling to. The Monsters are coming!!!

I have always been captivated by monsters; fantastic things of the imagination that truly bring fantasy to life. Creating these creatures has been a cherished passion for as long as I can recall so after much preparation I now plan to unleash an ongoing stream of original sculptures based on every “ghoulie, ghostie and long-legged beastie” thats been waiting in my mind to secure a 3-dimensional form. Most of these creations will be grouped into categories; Dragons, Demons, Monstrous Beasts and so on, each as an independent series. Scale will be determined depending on the application of the figure. If for RPG (role play gaming) use, the figures will be scaled to popular 28mm-35mm size in order to work within that universe. If for GK (garage kit) use, the figure will find it’s own scale based on what “feels right” for it’s audience.

Please stop by as the new year progresses for updates and to get a glimpse of the unusual.